Ovarian cyst on one side only?

[hannahs26]

I took my two year old female Rayla to Birch Heath vets in Tarporley today when I was concerned about ovarian cysts. The vet, David, was excellent - so pleased I registered there and drove the hour to see them. Anyway, he couldn't feel any cysts, so with the options of leaving it, ultrasound scan, or taking bloods under anaesthetic, I opted for a scan. The scan results were not typical of ovarian cysts, so he gave me options of what to do next. After much discussion, I decided to monitor her and return if her symptoms worsen at all, as she is happy and well seeming in herself at the moment. I took her in due to bilateral hair loss on the sides of her tummy, and the feeling of balloons each side of her abdomen, and her always being very vocal and unhappy with being checked around the area. It was only after seeing something online about hair loss that I read up and realised she had some symptoms of ovarian cysts.
Anyway, the scan showed a 1cm fluid-filled cyst on the left next to her bladder, which the vet said was not typical of ovarian problems. He said they usually present as having lots of little cysts on each side, not on just the one side only. He said that we could try hormone injections (1 a week for 3 weeks at the cost of around £200 per visit), but it may or may not clear up the cyst. He also offered the blood tests to find out more about what it could be, ruling out things like Cushings, but as it was needing anaesthetic and as I didn't feel it was urgent I decided to just monitor for now He also said that spaying was an option but he didn't know definitively whether that would solve the issue, and felt it would be a drastic plan at this stage so didn't recommend it just yet. He agreed that it wasn't a danger to just keep an eye on her for now and to rescan in a few weeks or months if I am concerned. I hope I made the right decision.
Has anyone else had a piggie with an ovarian cyst on only one side? If so, what was the outcome of any treatment?

 

[Wiebke]

I have had several sows spayed; some had just one large cyst but it is more common to have two or more. They do however not grow evenly or symmetrically as you seem to assume.
Non-hormonal fluid filled cysts usually don't cause any hair loss or crusts on the nipples but I have seen those symptoms on just one side of the belly. The majority of my cystic sows never had any symptoms but largy fluid-filled cysts in older age; they are the most common but go often undiagnosed unless they cause problems through their size. Far less had hormonal cysts (typically between 2-4 years) with classic symptoms.

Here is our information on ovarian cysts in sows: Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)

 

[Dilly's Piggies]

First of all, I'm sorry you're going through this with your piggie!

I've had a total of 4 sows now who all had ovarian cysts, two of them only had one cyst on one side (one had a small cyst, the other had a huge one). Another girl had multiple on one side, and the last girl had one on each side.

All showed typical ovarian cyst symptoms, varying in severity, such as hormonal behaviour, weight loss, enlarged & crusty nipples. Only 1 out of 4 had hormonal hair loss.

They were all successfully spayed, I did lose one shortly after surgery due to a reaction to the anesthesia, but the other girls made a full recovery.

So based on my own personal experience about what happened with my girls, ovarian cysts can and did cause problems in any amount, any side, any size. I've also had piggies with multiple or larger cysts that had lesser symptoms, and pigs with one small cyst have severe symptoms.

In my opinion an ovarian cyst is an ovarian cyst, it may not cause problems right away, but probably will later on. The sooner you take care of it, especially if your piggie is still young and healthy, the better her recovery and future will be. Plus the added benefit that spaying her will prevent any reproductive problems in the future like cancer, cysts, pyometra etc, I have a wonderful peace of mind with my spayed girls.

Ultimately it is yours and your vets decision, I hope my experience helps. I wish you and your piggie all the best! ❤